August 17, 2012

Nina Simone: pioneer, influential, volatile, classical music
genius, revolutionary, regal and every bit the High Priestess of Soul.

If
anybody is worthy of having her story brought to the big screen for posterity,
it would, and should, most assuredly be Nina. Despite
having to overcome racism and colorism, Nina left a legacy of music and
activism that continues to resonate with her fans, lifelong and new.

When it was announced in 2010 that a Nina Simone biopic—based
on a script by TV writer, Cynthia Mort—was in development and that singer, Mary
J. Blige was slated to play her, the public's interest was piqued, though some
(including myself) were a bit skeptical about whether Mary had the range and
right look to portray such a dynamic and complex figure. And while Mary J. Blige emotes a similar
feeling of consciousness about love and heartbreak in her own music, she
doesn't necessarily harness the same sense of social awareness Nina did. Nonetheless, some of us stayed abreast of the
project, which was slated to start filming last year. Alas, it was stalled by a
series of setbacks that delayed production and Mary J. Blige dropped out of the
film, reportedly, due to funding.

Folks were left to ponder who would play Nina, and bloggers
and fans campaigned for the Black actresses they thought were better suited for
the role – including Viola Davis, Lauryn Hill, India Arie and Adepero Oduye, who
starred in the Dee Rees film, Pariah
– so many were left with feelings of confusion and dismay when Afro-Latina
actress Zoe Saldana was announced as Mary J. Blige’s replacement. With Saldana
on-board to play Nina, suddenly the film’s financial setbacks were resolved and
filming picked up momentum.

While Zoe Saldana is undoubtedly a capable actress and has amassed an impressive acting resume, people are understandably agitated and, of course, the ubiquitous online petition started circulating via Change.org, and chief among the petition's grievances:

"Getting light complexioned actors to play the roles of dark complexioned historical figures is not only a sign of blatant disrespect to the persons they are portraying, but it is also disrespectful to their families, to history, to the people who look like the persons being whitewashed, and to the intelligence of the audience. For too long Hollywood has gotten away with this practice of revisionist history."